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Hungry Eyes and a Blade of Steel (NC-17)

Chapter 10.

Éowyn gazed upon Faramir, and saw him as though anew, as though the patina of habit and familiarity had been polished clean off him in a single swipe. He was again how he had been before he became hers – at that point in time when it had still been possible that he would never come to be hers. It had been up to her then, to accept or deny him. She had made that choice, once and for all, as the people of the Mark ever did.

White and gold to black and silver – how fitting it had always felt, how complementary.

A hotheaded woman of the wild North, uncompromising, forthright – she knew some called her that, and all that she may be, but she was no fool. Not being a fool meant she had well learnt that however tempting, the immediate reward of catering to hurt pride seldom served as a rosy long-term strategy. She had picked this man, perfect as he had once seemed, or somewhat flawed as it had eventually turned out, and she was not inclined to throw him away on a whim – much less inclined to watch him throw himself away.

Wronged as she was, naturally it would have been agreeable to see him pay for it – within reason. Pay with shame, and remorse, even with fear that he had stupidly lost her – but her gleeful desire to figuratively whip him for his misdeeds had not actually gone beyond that rather tame scope.

How could he take it this far?

Then again, being the sort of man that she knew him to be, having had the history that he did – how could he possibly take it any other way?

Indeed, to her puzzled question Faramir only shrugged, as though he had voiced not merely a self-evident but, in fact, the only possible solution.

“By the custom of my people, as a husband I am entitled to certain rights to you, my lady, that is true, but I do not own you in your entirety. You know well enough I never keep even a servant against their will – much less would I a wife.”

She chose her words carefully. “A servant you may dismiss, my lord, very true. For such is the oath your servants pledge to you that you may give them leave. But much as your intent is very noble, the bond that tied me to you is inseverable.”

“You mean the law?” he grinned softly. “That can be arranged. However few, there have been precedents – back in the age of the Kings, but if anything, that makes it only the more relevant today. As I’ve said, I owe you this much, Éowyn.”

He could not have possibly known how much she had seen and learned, let alone what she had been so busy doing during said learning. How could have she gotten herself cornered, led him to disarm her so accidentally?

The defeat tasted uncomfortably familiar – heavy, acute bitterness. A timely reminder that promising visions were misleading, that good things did not last, that she never saw the full picture until it was too late. That fate ever bestowed upon others what she could never earn at any cost to herself. As of late she had come to think fate was kinder than it seemed – so much for that.
All breath went out of her, and a sudden heat washed in her face, and without warning it burst forth, the rage she had so looked forward to unleashing before. The one thing she had always feared had finally befallen her – she was caged. By one man who knew no better, who could see no better – and another one who did not even care.

“You… You!” She could not begin to find the words – perhaps she would have to reconsider her earlier resolution about not screaming. Perhaps she would have to punch someone in the face, with a fist, to get it across.

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47 Comment(s)

NB: Comments span all chapters and may contain spoilers!

This is simply fantastic! I really do have a soft sport for Eowyn and you’ve written her wonderfully, I love how she goes from anger to disbelief to curiosity right through to arousal!
This was very hot ;), and beautifully written, and I can’t wait for this to continue (I want to know what happens when Faramir and Aragorn realise they were being watched!)

Haha, I was so excited that I missed the 2nd chapter :) I love this! You are touching on some serious subjects here and I did find Éowyn’s reasoning back and forth quite realistic – you’ve made her into a real person of flesh and blood. And the added pinch of humour (‘She would even wear a flowery dress’) just makes it more entertaining. Thank you!

Eora, thank you, thank you!! I’m glad you like it, and I promise there is more to come :)
Yes, I also love Eowyn – and she’s a darling to work with, by the way: such intense reactions… Although, you know, I always thought her relationship with Faramir was in for some, well… incidents. Eowyn’s got quite a bit of spirit – and then Faramir… All his patience, kindness, etc. notwithstanding, I always had a feeling he would not be exactly the yes-ma’am-of-course-ma’am-whatever-ma’am-says kind of husband. Well, we shall see about that later ;)

Oh, Geale, I was just in the process of typing my reply to the first two people and didn’t see your comment right away. Thank you very much for reading and for saying such nice things!
Frankly, initially I had meant to post the story only when it was fully ready, but then it stretched out long enough to be made into a mini-series – and I thought, why not? :)
As for Eowyn, I’m really glad you enjoy her character in this story. Actually, much as I am fond of her, I am also a total sucker for all things Faramir/Aragorn, and problem is she… well, sort of gets in the way. So this challenge’s idea struck me as a very clever way to try and fit everyone together somehow – and to see if they actually can fit together…

Wow! This was INCREDIBLE! I loved it all: the idea, the situation, the characters (well, Eowyn no far, she is simply brilliant, you did a great job at describing her thoughts and the way she passes from one feeling to another) and of course the excellent WRITING! congratulations for what you did so far, I can’t wait to see haw this will continue…

(I happen to be a big Faramir/Eowyn shipper with a secret passion for threesomes, so this story just tickles me pink! I really, really hope the three of them will all end up in that bed toghether and live out all kinds of fantasies…)

Alcardilmë, thank you! Ah, people never truly change, do they? She’s still looking for glory, and in the most gory places at that… I wonder what she’d think of the whole thing after she actually goes through it…

LittleDwarf, I’m so glad it’s hitting the spot! I also fell in love with the challenge’s idea at first sight (it’s a very big secret, but I also happen to share your passion for threesomes…), and am getting quite a kick out of working on it. I hope it shows :)
As for the characters – yeah, we only saw Aragorn’s back so far, not much of character development here ;) There’ll be a change of angle though, I promise!

Ooh! You’re such a tease! I read chapters 1 and 2 only this morning, which left me yearning for chapter 3—so I was very excited when I saw you posted the third chapter; perfect timing, I thought.
But of course now I’m left yearning for chapter 4…

Thank you so much for taking up my challenge. I’m very glad you’ve found it inspirational, and I just love what you’ve done with it so far.

Thank you, iris, for your kind comment! I am very glad you are enjoying this!
And thank you again for the challenge itself. It is helping me let go of many a self-imposed limitation, and at that has already quite broadened the range of topics I dare tackle as an author.

Yay, there’s more! :D (and I somehow managed to miss the third chapter being published?!) I really love this story and while I really, really want to find out the outcome I also don’t want it to rush to an ending either! Your writing style is so lovely; I love the introspective quality and I must say you are excellent at creating a rather steamy scene ;D I said it before but I really do love how you’ve written Eowyn, the way you’ve presented her thoughts and feelings really give the reader an excellent grasp of her character and her reactions are all justified (however varied her reactions may be!) I can’t wait to see what happens next; the revelation that Faramir and Aragorn aren’t just doing this for kicks is one I really want to read more about :) Fantastic!

This story is so intriguing! I find it amazing how you’ve posted four chapters in which, on the surface, only one thing is happening: a woman is spying on her husband in bed with his lover. And yet, beneath the surface there is this stunning whirlwind of emotions, reflections, realisations, ideas etc. that we are guided through. Your writing is – I’ll have run out of superlatives when this story is finished – so incredibly excellent! :)

I just love your writing. I start out thinking it’s sweet and fun. And then it hits me – you KNOW Eowyn. This is not a sad little woman, but a profoundly strong woman. I just love what you give us of her. What I learn about her. Profound!

Excellent tale. Can’t wait for the next chapter… and the one after that!

Eora, thanks very much for all your sweet words! I can assure you this tale shan’t end too soon, we only have about a third of it published this far. As for Eowyn’s revelation, that is bound to be further explored in the nearest future – I can even tell you that this time it won’t be only her thoughts we’ll be getting on the subject.

Geale, glad to know you’re following and still liking it! I can promise you soon enough there’s going to be much more than just this one thing happening. Although I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s going to be altogether pleasant: you know what Eowyn is like. She’s always had more of herself than she could handle on her own – but who’s to talk sense into her in this dire situation?

Alcardilmë, thank you, thank you! But, honestly, dear, you were expecting something sweet and fun – from me? ;-p You know my mode, for every ounce of fun there’s bound to be a pound of angst and assorted observations about this and that. Besides, it’s Eowyn we’re dealing with: she never has it the easy way, does she? Well, we shall wait and see whether she can make the most of what she’s given…

Ah… you know for days I’ve been meaning to reply to your email, saying ‘don’t feel obliged just because I asked’, and ‘don’t let my shameless begging pressure you into writing anything’ so I sincerely hope you didn’t feel pressured but still I’m glad you did add to, what I still sort of consider to be, in part at least, my story;) Though you’re such a tease!!
Thanks a lot for sharing!

Well then, maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t send that mail after all ;) No, no, to be serious, your asking about it didn’t in any way weigh on me. If anything, it’s very helpful to get a reminder that regardless of the hiatus the story is still being waited for, at least by someone :) And now that the chapter finally came out the way that feels right to me, I really can’t see why it was such a struggle… guh.
Anyway, I’m happy you’re enjoying! And yes, of course it is your story too, that’s part of the pleasure of working on it, to know that it’s a product of more than one imagination :)

Oooooohh, wonderful sixth chapter! If you hadn’t done it before, now you’ve made sure anyone who reads this will have to read the next -as soon as you have it out!
What will happen now, WHAT, WHAT, WHAAAAAAAT? I want to know!

Wow, everyone, thank you so much! I can’t tell you how much fun I’ve had reading your comments.Elektra, hm, and a bit of a c%nt-block, too, come to think of it ;p
Moral: don’t bring cold weapons along on sexual expeditions – or, maybe, do? %DNerey, yey, you’re still reading this! :) Well, I can assure you that a lot of things are going to happen now. Of what nature and tonality, it remains to be seen ;)Alcardilmë, oh, I wonder what she would say of the notion at this particular point in the story…

Oh my- now there’s a cliffhanger! Many thanks for the latest offering — and I’m much looking forward to the next chapter (needless to say, I second elektra’s request… but you probably got that from the challenge;))

Well! I really must begin by echoing Iris and saying What a cliffhanger! I won’t lie, I’ve been waiting for that moment for a long time; I literally can’t wait to see what happens in the next chapter! (the possibilities…)

I love the continuing back and forth description of what amounts to some very steamy action in the bedroom and what Eowyn herself is doing, and then her inner thoughts and assumptions and quick changing emotions, all coupled with her physical reaction and state. Teamed with the building suspense (for we know Eowyn must either going to be discovered or perhaps burst into the room at some point during the build-up) it makes for a really heady mix!

‘True enough, in the heat of his passion he could go hard and fast on her, could reduce her to convulsions and screams. Yet nevertheless he never crossed the line, ever remaining loving, respectful and mindful; never had he been in any way rough or forceful, never had he shown her this side of himself that so easily broke forth when he was with Aragorn.’ It’s this theme here in this paragraph that is so interesting, and what I feel is the real crux of the situation.
I love the aggression and roughness between Faramir and Aragorn, not so much between themselves as people, for all we know of their ‘relationship’ is what we see through Eowyn’s eyes and in her thoughts and deductions, but in the way they are with one another in the bedroom. We saw earlier on their more tender lovemaking, and now there seems to be a fire raging within them both, and it seems here, and Eowyn comes to the conclusion as well, that here is an opportunity for Faramir to be rough, or be treated more roughly; the way you touch upon her insecurities as a lover, questioning in what ways she must be inadequate for Faramir to both stray and ‘open himself up’ in such a way as you put it is very well written and put forth, and a very interesting issue to consider.
I am absolutely itching to see the conclusion to this wholly inexplicable conundrum, to find out the answers to Eowyn’s questions; why has Faramir strayed? Is Eowyn truly so lacklustre in bed, or is it something more? Or does he love her truly, and finds no fault in her skill, and then the question should be what has Aragorn offered him that would be so tempting as to make Faramir forsake his vows and be led astray? Does Faramir fight within himself the doubt over whether he is attracted to women or men, and is this some way of answering that question? These things, and more, are things that Eowyn and the reader have in the forefront of their mind, and I for one am really very eager to find out some answers! When I saw the ‘DE-KLANG!’ at the end, my heart leapt into my mouth; I knew things were about to get even more interesting! I can’t wait for the next chapter! :D

(You really make me want to write an Eowyn-centric story now, and though she has a part in another fic I’m writing I want to give her a story of her own, so thank you for the wonderful inspiration- again!)

Iris, hm, I’ll be a little sassy now ;P What I’ve gathered from the challenge is ‘they ought to invite her’ along. True enough, they probably ought to, given what arses they’ve been to her – but will they? These two don’t seem to always be doing strictly what they ought. Besides, they might as well invite her – but what would her reaction to that be? Your request said nothing on the subject… X-P Eora! I’m glad you see various directions for the situation to develop/be explained: working with a pretty much predetermined plot I still wanted the reader to feel like they do not quite know what exactly is going to come next. And I may assure you, many of thequestions you raise are yo be addressed in the upcoming updates 
I must confess that for me, too, this story has stemmed a couple more Eowyn pieces, where invariably she is in some complicated Faramir-Aragorn situation, not necessarily slashy, but complicated nevertheless. I find I can never in my mind untie her from Aragorn completely, believing that even though she did come to love Faramir and all, her history with the King could not have disappeared without a trace.Bell Witch, thank you! Personally, I think all erotica is to some extent voyeuristic (except, perhaps, for that done from 1st person POV and therefore rather exhibitionist in nature), and to me the, so to say, emotional voyeurism seems as important in it as the sheer physical aspect. I think the reason we want to read sexy stories not just about anyone but our dear Faramir, Aragorn and the others is specifically the psychology and the depth it adds to the sexiness, otherwise it would be simpler to just put any random Bob, Bill and Jane in a story and see them go at it :D And I think the reason I was attracted by this challenge in the first place is not only that I always thought Eowyn would never fully get over the Aragorn incident, but also the endless multitude of themes and feelings that can be explored in this sort of seemingly straightforward situation.

oh… uncomfortable silence… I wonder how you’ll turn this around and move this forward (to me, that transition always seemed the trickiest part of the plot), and of course where you’ll take things from here.
Regarding your earlier comment: true, I didn’t specify whether Eowyn would accept any invitation – I suppose it simply didn’t occur to me that any woman could possibly turn them down! ;) But then again, I didn’t specify a lot of things – in my mind Eowyn realizes at some point while watching them, that she’s not angry or sad, but jealous, and then wonders whether it’s Faramir or Aragorn she’s most jealous of… But when you spell out a plot play by play, there are no more surprises. It’s far more fun seeing how you run with it! Keep up the good work!

Oooohh, December, what a treat! I never hoped you’d post this so soon! Very good chapter, I’d say, and I wonder where it goes from here. Personally I think Faramir and Éowyn need to be alone if their relationship is to be healed; I can’t see either her or Faramir to let their raw feelings out in Aragorn’s presence. I don’t think she can really forgive anything while Aragorn is there, for one thing. But then of course I can’t see Aragorn leaving, it would seem like a retreat. I’d respect a Faramir that asked Aragorn to leave and dealt with his wife alone (I was a bit surprised that he didn’t come out of the room right away with Aragorn, or indeed without him). But your boys seem resolute not to feel sorry for what they’ve done, so I guess the three of them are stuck together. And then… I guess the only one who can do something about the situation is Éowyn. It’s up to her to forgive or not, for the men will do nothing to earn her pardon…
Still, I hope they will come up with something quickly, otherwise they are in for a very ridiculous situation where neither Aragorn nor Éowyn are ready to leave, Faramir can’t choose between them and none of the three has enough authority to get them all out of the awkward position, so they stay in the room looking at each other until they starve…
Interesting situation indeed: Aragorn is the King but he’s the intruder, Faramir is the host but he’s the unfaithful husband, Éowyn is in her own right but has been caught in the rather undignified position of spying… and she’s got no authority over either of them anyway. None of them really enjoys a safe or fully legitimate position.
Sure, despite this Éowyn could have the cheek to tell Aragorn to leave (even though he’s the King), but what if he doesn’t, if he and Faramir stick together? Emotionally speaking, she can do nothing against both of them. Faramir’s love for her is her only asset. And I guess the only thing that would make the boys feel sorry (and comfort her) would be to behold her suffering, but is she going to show it?
Heavens, what a mess. I hope you don’t mind my mentioning all those possibilities, but it’s always funny to see if we fanreaders get near what you’ve plotted for your characters.
Anyway, thanks a lot for this story that’s getting ever more interesting!

Wow- that was fast! And here’s me fearing I may have to wait a long time to see the outcome; though with a cliffhanger like that even one day would be forever :P

Talk about your awkward moments! (You know how I like those!) Like Nerey Camille has mentioned each peson in this most awkward scenario is in a uniquely powerful and powerless position; Aragorn obviously outranks everyone, but he is indeed the usurper in the marital bed. Faramir is obviously caught in the middle rank-wise but also he is Eowyn’s husband and has her love (ignoring for the moment any residual feelings she still harbours for Aragorn here) but he has apparently forsaken their marriage by being unfaithful, and with someone so utterly different to Eowyn both in rank and physically (and it brings to my mind the question of whether Eowyn’s feelings/reaction toward this whole matter would change if she had found Faramir in bed with another woman? Will Eowyn’s feelings toward Aragorn temper her reaction? She fantasises about him sometimes, though it is clear that Faramir has had her love for a while now.) And then, obviously, we have Eowyn, who, while wife of the Steward, is still outranked by him, and as has been said has only Faramir’s love for her as the card up her sleeve so to speak, along with, of course, the power she has been given by the two men as the jilted party, the person who has had her honour affronted in the most visceral way. She does not find out about the affair from gossip or hearsay or finding Aragorn’s smallclothes under the bed, no, she all but walks in on them in the act, and her right to anger is arguably the most powerful weapon here, though we’ll just need to find out how she chooses to wield it! (Is it too soon to beg for the next chapter?)

I giggled at the image of Aragorn just standing there with, ahem, the decency toward Eowyn to at least forego covering himself up, which is a rather strange sentence to type but as you’ve written; “[…] he must have already gathered she had just witnessed things far worse.” I think, though on its own standing there naked isn’t exactly what one generally does of an evening it at least says something for Aragorn’s…I don’t know if I want to say, ‘shame’ quite yet, as he and Faramir both, at the moment, seem quite unmoveable in their unapologetic stance. I’m not sure that quite made sense, but what I mean is that yes, Aragorn apologises for Eowyn having to find out about all of this in this particular way, but there is not yet any apology from neither he nor Faramir about the situation itself, though what apology can either give right now that would appease Eowyn or make anything better? Anything they said would surely ring false, because it seemed not five minutes prior they were not sorry at all. Hmm, yes, it appears I am in desperate need of the next chapter, once again you’ve left us on a spectacular cliffhanger! I’m eager to hear Faramir’s side of the story, his explanation or apology or whatever he is going to say, though from what I’m reading it seems we may not get much of the apology, I get the feeling that while he would not wish to hurt Eowyn he nevertheless is not sorry for his feelings toward Aragorn, and indeed does not feel that those two sets of feelings, those two different loves he has for Eowyn and Aragorn do not come into competition with one another, and are wholly separate, and surely something can be worked out in the end? But as Eoywn thinks, it does seem at the moment that Faramir is getting the best of both worlds here while she is usurped and Aragorn intrudes. How can she act now and come out on too? If she leaves Faramir she would arguably have her dignity intact but lose her husband, and most likely Faramir and Aragorn would continue their liaison. If she stays, what chance is there that she could split them up? As has been said her only real weapons (other than her sword, of course!) are her anger and Faramir’s love for her, but are they enough to get him to cast Aragorn out and try to mend something that is possibly un-fixable- their marriage? This whole incident would always loom over them like a black cloud, haunting Eowyn’s memory, and plaguing her thoughts. The trust between she and Faramir hangs on a particualrly thin thread at the moment, if it still exists at all. And of course, there is the question of, when the words are exchanged…will she want to split them up? Aaah, how complicated!

I am sure Eowyn is going to have some choice things to say to both Faramir and Aragorn…I wonder indeed how things will work out in the end (if they indeed work out.) So many different ways this story could go from here- as always I am eagerly awaiting the next chapter! Thank you! :D

Her path and Aragorn’s simply did not cross in his heart for any competition to be able to arise, he somehow had enough love capacity for both a young woman and an older man, a lady he had once saved from her own demons and a lord who had saved him…

Agrh, Nerey, I so want to answer many of your points! But really can’t without betraying the next events… And no, of course I don’t mind your versions/questions: to me that’s the best sign the reader is really in the story.
Well, I can answer this so far: logically speaking, of course it should not have been Aragorn to open the door. It was more than an anything just an accident, they were both totally startled and he acted instinctively, thinking there was some kind of danger (not too many years have passed since the War) – and Faramir didn’t interfere because… well, because he doesn’t interfere with Aragorn :) And he also trusts in Aragorn’s ability to handle anything, so when he realised who was behind the door he didn’t feel like he ought to get there and take over before Aragorn ruined everything :) Aragorn himself may be reasonable about his place in the situation and quietly step aside, and he would likely understand if Faramir were to request he altogether go to a different room – and indeed, if Faramir were having a random fuck with one of his Rangers, I believe he would have asked of the man just that. But in this particular case, especially as… rrrhh, no, I can’t go in there yet…! Hm, well, I can say this: Eowyn’s extremely distrusful at this moment, and she has seen there are feelings between the men, so if Faramir had tried to get alone with her, it might’ve only seemed the more suspicious to her. And Aragorn himself has his reasons for staying, too, impolite as it may seem.
Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment!

Iris, hm, that’s an interesting line – although to me, personally, your phrasing of her having a ‘crush’ on Aragorn bespoke a fundamental difference in her feelings for him and for Faramir. She’s got more than a crush on Faramir, right? Besides, Aragorn comes and goes, but with Faramir she has to coexist daily, for life, so it felt to me they would not weigh equally on her scales – she may feel great envy for each, but jealousy, hm, she’d long since surrendered Aragorn to another woman, he is not hers to be jealous of in the first place, while Faramir… Which is not, of course, to demean in any way the unresolved feelings she still harbours for Aragorn ;)
I’ll admit that for me, too, this is the trickiest point. From the very start I wanted to make this scene believable and true to character, not just a random kind of dialogue to move on to the sex. If Aragorn were to open the door and be like Oh, hello, look who’s here. Well, come on in now, I’ll put my penis in you, too I doubt anyone would have read past that phrase :) And for Eowyn, too, given her character and her history with each of them, it felt to me they’d have to try harder than flexing their muscles and dazzling her with their sheer irresistibleness.

Eora, indeed, trust is fragile now – and not only Eowyn’s trust in Faramir, by the way. The matter of ‘forsaking the marriage’ is complicated, too: from the beginning Eowyn had seen marriage as something that cannot even be forsaken since separation is not an option in the package, as in some cultures no crime is allotted the death penalty. But there remains the question of whether some offences are to be seen as unforgivable, and whether her understanding of this corresponds with the men’s, namely, did Faramir see starting a relationship with Aragorn as forsaking Eowyn, and does it change anything if he did/didn’t? As for your wondering about how it would’ve been had his lover been a woman, I think it would’ve been different. Remember, like in ‘What Women Want’, when Mel Gibson’s character tells the girl that it’s not her, that he’s simply gay, she just feels so very relieved :) I can, unfortunately, relate to that to some extent, and I’d say that it really can change things when your, hm, ‘opponent’s’ gender is different from yours. It doesn’t necessarily make it painless or simple, but it makes it different. And I remember, a friend once showed me a pic he took of his then girlfriend with another chic, and I asked, doesn’t it bother you that she’s actually kissing someone who isn’t you? And he said, han, not at all, it’s just too different to arouse any jealousy in me. Go figure, it’s complicated. Which leads to another question: in a society that sees monogamy as the only acceptable mode for a fully loving commited relationship, what are you supposed to do if you have a genuine love for two people (that happens, too), or a genuine sexual need for both genders, if either one is never enough without the other, if salt doesn’t satisfy your sugar cravings?
PS And I so giggled at the image you gave me of Eowyn pulling Aragorn’s silk gangsta boxers (black and spangled stars with ‘The King’ embroidered in silverthread across the rear, of course) from under the bed.

Ithilatta, thank you for letting me know you’re reading and looking forward to the developments!

Mmm, mmm… still pondering ways of solving this difficult situation. If I found myself in such a situation, I guess I’d tell the lovers something like “Well, now you’ve done it, we’re all deep in mud, what do you plan to do about it? How do you expect us three to go on after this?” then I’d wait expectantly watching their blank faces (there’s a good chance I’d find some comfort and even a reason to laugh in that) then I’d tire of waiting and I’d tell them I’m going to sleep, or to eat, or whatever and I’d leave them to think about it while I rested (and they’d better not start making love again!).
But then if I was Éowyn, I’d care a lot about territory and honour. I would not show any weakness or indulgence. I’d tell them “My lords, I intend to sleep. I hoped for my husband’s company tonight but since he’s busy elsewhere, may I have my own bed and some privacy to undress, or do I have to sleep in a guest’s room?”. Then in all decency they could do nothing but leave me alone in the room, mistress of the battlefield, and go out to make love elsewhere or discuss the situation, whatever. I’d behave in the same way for as long as was necessary, just going about my normal life without Faramir. No questions, no demands, no reproaches, not even the slightest bit of attention in fact. I’d say Faramir would respect such an attitude more than anything else. And the fact of losing Éowyn’s love and wronging her into the bargain would eat him (moreover it would soon become a public scandal). Then he’d be bound to take the first step to resolve the situation.
Oh, am I near the mark? I expect not. In my mind such a situation would require time to be solved, but that wouldn’t fit the rhythm of your story, and I expect you’ll find a way to shorten the delay and keep the three characters together. Though how you’ll manage that I can’t contrive. In any case, I couldn’t resist putting on Éowyn’s shoes for a moment and sharing my impressions on the matter.

Ooh, Nerey, you’re such a darling!
Interesting – I too, personally, am quite fond of the ‘ignore mode’. I’d much rather use that to communicate inexpressable outrage than swear and holler. And Eowyn as well, I think, was used to showing cold contempt for those who poisoned her existence like Grima instead of passionately confronting them. But Faramir to her is not like Grima, and… You see, the room is actually Faramir’s, not hers – she has her own bed chamber, where she was coming from through the adjoining private corridor when she heard the moans. So she can’t really demand that the men leave and surrender the ‘battlefield’ to her… If she wants to part at the moment, she would have to be the one to leave, and that wouldn’t be quite as victorious as kicking them out, wouldn’t it…? ;)
But I very much like the notion of her saying something like All right, I’m bored of you lot, I’m going to go and make myself a sandwich now. as though she’s too above them to even care.

Sorry that I might not be able to appreciate this story as much as I maybe should – it just touches some “raw spots” and in a way that makes me very uncomfortable and sad.
Besides, I really CANNOT understand this Eowyn fully. She/ her thinking is SO unlike me/mine I only can wonder at her motives and ideas… I really hope for some nice fucking to sort it all ;) and make some sort of a Happy Ending or I will always be very unconfortable with this story.

Really, I’m very much astounded that everybody (I’ve seen likewise situations in TV shows, films, songs etc.) seems to approach the “I’m too above to even care”-way. Beside the fact that it is highly doubtful you could act like this when catching your partner in the act of cheating, isn’t it one of the most wrong signals to send (= biggest lies): “Please go on, I don’t care, there is no problem”?

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Don’t be sorry, you are not obliged to appreciate everything I write, especially as this chapter had never been intended to make anyone happy or ‘comfortable’ ;) I mean, dealing with cheating can hardly be comfortable, or can it?

If anything, I am as an author am happy this bit has caused such an intense response from you, even if the emotion is not enjoyment – forgive my little sadistic streak, but I feel that when the characters suffer, it is good when the readers sympathise.

As for the ‘I couldn’t care less’, indeed, isn’t it such a common line of conduct for the people in hurt, embarrassment, even remorse? I’ve seen this in real life many times, too, and hardly ever does it actually make things any better, but it’s a very convenient defence reaction: to not show your own pain/fear/confusion lets you feel less powerless and humiliated in unpleasant situtations. And as for Eowyn specifically – remember, once before she had shown her despair to a man, namely Aragorn – had that made him change his mind about the matter in hand? With Faramir she had been far more cautious – and now he too has let her down…

And also a bit of a hint: ‘I couldn’t care less’ could be read as not only ‘there is no problem, go on’ but also as ‘you’ve fallen so low in my eyes now that I couldn’t possibly care for anything whatsoever related to you’.

Well, it COULD. But can you afford running the risk in such a situation?
Besides, that statement is not very much more true than the other one. It is a lie and nothing but, not even so much to the partner but more to oneself.

Moreover: really, I doubt that not showing pain lessens it. A fragile show of unimpressedness can come at very high costs in the long run. Put aside that very few people would believe it.

Sorry to say, that my discomfort with that particular story does not come because of sympatising with the characters. It is a feeling I have gotten quite a few times, when I sense a story (-line) has the potential for something really deep/profound/brilliant, but misses it. It is worse if it misses it only by a hair – since a few chapters I wonder what exactly that point is and I just CANNOT lay my fingers on it, but something about this story just don’t feel right…
Does that make any sense? I’m afraid it does not. ;)
Maybe it is all my fault. :) Maybe because I myself/characters in my fanfiction would act totally different in this situation we just can’t get together…

As to the Eowyn-shows-her-despair-thing (which I of course had in mind): I’d argue exactly on the contrary – if it is about something/-one that is really important to Eowyn – she will let her masks fall and show her utter despair. If she has done it for Aragorn, how much more would she do it for Faramir?

Well, I won’t argue that you should see this story as brilliant – I perosnally don’t! :)

Anyway, I would agree that your dissatisfaction comes in part from the differences in our perception of Eowyn. I haven’t yet sent you the reply to your answer regarding your Eowyn story, but in that reply, in point of fact, I tried to lay out my understanding of how her head/heart work, and it’s very different from yours. I don’t know if either of us is correct – only Tolkien could say that ;)

What I think of Eowyn is she doesn’t always do what she did the first time. She had immediately turned towards Aragorn – but had been very cautious with Faramir. She had wanted to fight, and win glory and maybe even die – and then she wanted to fight no more but rather be a healer. So I feel that in a situation like this she might also behave not like she had in her previous moment of despair. Besides, much as she loves Faramir, she is also furious with him – he has just upturned her perfectly settled life, not to mention the rest – and there is also the question of her dignity at stake, especially with Aragorn being present – and she is a proud woman, after all. Not to mention that, albeit in her previous life, she had worked up quite a habit of concealing her sorrow and acting strong, and in moments of such stress old habits sometimes resurface.

But in either case, I perfectly understand what you mean. I also get this quite a lot, when I read something and like it, but then the character begins to stray from my idea of them, and I can relate to it no longer. Oh well :)

"had it been she whom Aragorn had directed his advances at, would have her resolve withstood?" - now that has potential! That'd be a great new challenge, and indeed could be a great new story! How would she react, and how would Faramir react to a decision either way? Oh my, lots and lots of great plots right there!

But let's not forget about this story! I really enjoyed this chapter- they way you describe Eowyn gearing up for a sparring match is perfect, and how her fighting spirit transitions to a daze. I love how you've made this purely a conversation between husband and wife, even with Aragorn (boned-up and all;)) right there, yet you don't let us completely forget about him, which adds some lighthearted sparks to this otherwise strained situation.

And, surprise, surprise, another cliff-hanger. You really know how to keep us at the edge of our seats!

Only saw your last comment from June when reading this chapter. Good point about the room being Faramir’s (how inconvenient for Éowyn, isn’t it?).
As for Éowyn’s “I couldn’t care less” reaction, I partly agree with Elektra in that concealing pain does not suffice to eliminate it, but neither does the fact of letting it out. Right now only Faramir could bring healing to her, and by the look of things he isn’t going to. Then what remains for Éowyn but to accept the situation and move on?
Like December, I think “I couldn’t care less what you do now” doesn’t mean “I don’t care about you” or “I’m not hurt” but rather “You’ve hurt me so much and you’ve disgraced yourself so fully in my eyes that I’m finished caring for what you do”. To me, for Éowyn to renounce any claim on Faramir is no “good” solution, only the best possible option. She won’t obtain anything through asking, begging or insulting him, so why bother? At least thus she forces him to respect her. In any case only Faramir can decide to earn her forgiveness or not. She can’t force him to.

Now, this was all about the previous chapter, but now we have another one! It seems Faramir’s done what I expected Éowyn to do: rather than being rejected by her, he’s taken the initiative to leave her. That leaves Éowyn in a very difficult position, for now either she’ll have to accept to be chucked on top of cheated on, or she’ll have to soften and be ready to forgive him without him even asking. It is most clever of Faramir (however uncalculated it probably is), and rather unfair on her. I’m sure she must feel despair (she didn’t expect her husband to leave her, obviously) and at the same time her pride must be badly hurt as well (if he can let her go so easily, how much can he really love her?).
What will she do? Act on pride and say “OK, leave then”, however much she suffers inside, or act on her love for him and admit she wasn’t intending to leave him and she’d rather he doesn’t leave her? Both would be credible enough, though I rather think (and also hope) she’ll do the second.
It is unfair of Faramir to thus throw on her the responsibility of leaving him or taking the first step toward reconciliation, but at the same time… it’s also fair somehow, though I can’t quite explain why. It’s hard on her but she can take it, I don’t know if you know what I mean… I feel it empowers her, despite all appearances to the contrary, and it also gives her the opportunity of being generous and mature instead of just being very cross and throwing all the responsibility of what’s happened on him.
Oh, I’m very much looking forward to the next chapter. This development was something completely unexpected to me (as well as to Éowyn, I’m sure) and it opens new possibilities. It’s brilliant.
There are other quite interesting things in the chapter: Faramir saying he can’t decide whom he loves (yes, but he could decide whom to sleep with, couldn’t he?), and then the fact he’s convinced what Éowyn’s standing is, though he doesn’t really take the time to ask her… which probably shows he’s also hurt and not entirely master of himself… otherwise he would have taken time before directly assuming she’ll leave him and all is lost. Like her, he’s confused and suffering and afraid, and that is moving. Well… we’ll see how this works out in the end. Aragorn’s being rather silent, maybe it’s time for him to say something that’ll help them?

Awwww! Still no comfort to them (and all of us readers)?! My, you are a cruel one!
Still, this one seems to lead a lighter way than the chapters before (to my relief!). It would be to mean to have them suffer for very much longer, wouldn’t it?
I enjoyed the humor bits: Faramirs “private” virtues (hope to read more about them!) and the King who isn#t used any more (has he ever?) to getting no attention at all… ;)

Hi December!
Wow, no real developments in this chapter, that’s cruel indeed! Still, my hunches were right: we learn that Éowyn has more sense than letting Faramir go; and obviously Aragorn is going to do something. He plainly thinks they’re both acting like idiots and he alone can save the situation now.

I wonder, what will he say? And how will Éowyn react to his speaking when he’s the lover?
He could, maybe, tell Faramir that he’s not going to authorize the separation, and ask them to think better about it. But in the end the problem has not changed: neither Aragorn nor Faramir are ready to stop seeing each other, and how can Éowyn be made to accept that? The trickiest part of the plot is still before us. I’m so looking forward to read it!

By the way, I loved this: white and gold to black and silver. How true, and to think I had never thought of it!

Haha, yes, not too much development ;) On the whole, I must confess this is turning out far, far longer than I’d initially intended – and therefore less swift in pace as well. The thing is, whereas I had originally envisioned this story as a PWP focusing mainly on hotness bred of spying and spite, in the process of writing it I’ve become quite enthralled with the inner states of the characters (even though I’m mostly depicting Eowyn’s – so far at the least…). Which is not to say that I’ve forgotten about the hotness – not at all :D It’s just that it seems that all the details of their feelings and thoughts (including the reasons for why they behave as they do) deserve as much of the story’s focus as the “action” itself.

Special smooches to Nerey for noting the thing about black-and-silver-etc :) I’ve no idea whether Tolkien paired them up this way on purpose or rather it was a somewhat coincidental result of the overall harmony and integratedness of his writing themes. Either way, it feels to me this complementariness is two sided in the sense that, although symbolising how matching F and E are, at the same time it underscores that they are also, in a sense, direct opposites. You know, some of their character traits… And in that, sometimes it can be difficult for them to foresee the other’s response :D

(I have read all chapters at once so this comment refers to the complete story)

First: It is beyond my comprehension how you manage to keep three (3!) series going at once without getting the threads intertwined. I deeply bow to your feet, oh master of multifarious lore!

Second: I really appreciate the way you characterized Eówyn. Personally I must say I never came to terms with what the book did to her. That final twist, when from one minute to another she decides to marry a guy she does not know at all and goes “from now on I am not interested in men´s business anymore” always felt like a betrayal to me. As if all her former life, all her intentions, would be negated and diminished. More, it´s like putting her “in the right place” by only granting her some happiness if she agrees to act in the traditional “female” way (actually it´s somewhat disgracing for the character of Faramir, too. A man who is highly concerned of their people; a man who – now that there is a new guy in town – should be interested in the political situation and instead all he can think of is wooing a woman he has only seen once). For that I never felt quite comfortable with the character – not because of what she is but because the book subliminally tells us that what she is is wrong (at least that is how I understood it).

Well, err…seems I spaced out a little. What I actually wanted to say was: I love the way you gave her enough space to become a real person, even with a streak of very human spitefulness. Independent of the question whether her lawful state as a wife gives her the “right” to utter any accusations she has certainly the right to have her own feelings about the situation and express them according to her own personality (means beyond a seemly “Yes, Sire. No, Sire. What duty do you have for me, Sire?”). I think you perfectly pointed out her – quite understandable – position: Doomed to be excluded from experiencing strength and power in another way than being on the receiving end she might feel strongly drawn to this constellation in which both partners are absolutely equal and the submitting role can be exchanged any time. Thinking about it I had the idea that you wrote her as a very good example of how a fan-(slash) girl might perceive the situation. ;)

Oh, and please don´t get me wrong: All the protagonists are very rich and complex characters! It would have been much easier to reduce them to stereotypes (“the philandering husband”, “the lover”, the betrayed wife”) but you make their actions and emotional states absolutely comprehensible. I am waiting for the upcoming chapters with anticipation! :D

Oh, and I almost forgot: I love that subtle hint that maybe – maybe – there is a tiny possibility Faramir enjoys his role as a martyr a bit more then he is supposed to. Actually he is too intelligent to not be aware of how his attitude affects people – and who knows? In his play with Aragorn there is more than a slight streak of BDSM… ;)

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About the Author

What to expect to find here: All the stories are based on Book-verse for looks and personalities, although you will often find the canon bent (hehe) in terms of events. Please prepare for an unhurried, often bitter-sweet read with lots of sexual tension.

A bit about me: feisty redhead headquartered in New Zealand. Living in a wooden house in the old forest not far from the sea – probably goes some way to explain why I write what I do. Other than reading and writing, lover of music, art, travel, gardening, dance horses, and chocolate.

Was introduced to Tolkien at the tender age of six, was never the same since.

Always keen to collaborate with all ye good folke in the fandom. Feel free to get in touch if you’re looking for a beta reader, too.

Also, if you’re looking to visit New Zealand, happy to offer a bed and breakfast (second breakfast negotiable).

P.S. Don’t forget to have a look at the challenges – perhaps there is one waiting just for you!